Sleep has been more and more elusive during this time due to disrupted circadian rhythms. Spa and wellness guru, Roger Moore shares with us his natural tips on how to get better sleep.
You would think that with all the time we spend at home these days, sleep would be indulgently abundant. However, I do find that most nights, sleep is more elusive than ever. It’s not uncommon for me to reach out to turn off the lights and then decide to take one last look at my phone. Before I know it, it’s 3 am and I’ve done about a hundred google searches, trolled the internet and tried in vain to make myself fall asleep by watching a movie on TV which turns out to be much more exciting than expected. I know I’m not alone in this boat as many of my friends have expressed that their hours have shifted. The usual early birds transforming into night owls and the night owls have pushed their own circadian boundaries to resemble that of a vampire's.
The National Institute of General Medical Sciences in the United States best describes the concept of Circadian Rhythms. They “are physical, mental, and behavioral changes that follow a daily cycle. They respond primarily to light and darkness in an organism's environment. Sleeping at night and being awake during the day is an example of a light-related circadian rhythm.” Before we could produce artificial light, our natural cycle would be to wake during daylight and to sleep when it is dark.
However, modern technology has advanced in such a way that light can be produced all the time. Not just any light, but also different types of light including the blue light emanated from screens. “Circadian rhythms help determine our sleep patterns. The body’s master clock, or SCN, controls the production of melatonin, a hormone that makes you sleepy. It receives information about incoming light from the optic nerves, which relay information from the eyes to the brain. When there is less light—like at night—the SCN tells the brain to make more melatonin so you get drowsy.”
A disrupted circadian rhythm can have a devastating effect on bodily functions such as the regulation of hormones, eating habits and body temperatures. “ Irregular rhythms have been linked to various chronic health conditions, such as sleep disorders, obesity, diabetes, depression, bipolar disorder, and seasonal affective disorder.”
That’s just one more thing to keep you up at night.
So how do we get better sleep? We all know that excessive use of sleeping pills can develop dependency and undesirable effects, and even the consistent use of herbal sleeping pills can prove to be ineffective as the body gets used to it and one needs to continually up the dosage. We reached out to Roger Moore, Spa and Wellness Director at 137 Pillars House, who implements their famed “Sleep by Design” therapy in the resort. He shared with us some of his tips on how to wind down and catch some deeply satisfying Zzzz’s.
